1. Technical Field
The invention concerns a method of controlling a flight obstacle lighting arrangement and a wind park having means for carrying out the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of proposals have already been made, for controlling flight obstacle lighting arrangements of wind power installations.
Thus it is known that the flight obstacle lighting arrangements (also referred to as “flight lighting arrangements” for brevity) of wind power installations in a given geographical region are constantly switched on or off in dependence on the respective time of day.
Proposals have also already been made for equipping a wind park comprising a plurality of wind power installations with a radar device so that then flying objects, for example aircraft and the like, which are in the proximity of the wind park (and for example are on a collision course with the wind park) have attention drawn to the wind park by the flight lighting arrangement being switched on.
The present invention takes as its basic starting point international patent application WO 2010/133541 as relevant state of the art.
That application, the content of which is also made content of the present application, discloses equipping a wind park by means of a so-called secondary radar, which means that at least one wind power installation of the wind park is in a position to receive and evaluate a transponder signal, for example from an aircraft or also an air traffic control center. In that case the transponder signal is a so-called “DF 17 signal” which is typical in air traffic, that is to say it also includes height information. If the height information can certainly exclude collision of the flying object with the wind park the flight obstacle lighting arrangement remains switched off. That is the case for example when the transponder signal contains height information of 30,000 ft (ft=1 foot).
If however the transponder signal includes height information which involves a markedly shorter distance for the flying object in relation to the wind park, for example height information for 1,000 ft, the flight obstacle lighting arrangement of the wind park is switched on so that all flight obstacle lighting arrangements of the wind power installations are activated and thus the position of the wind power installations of the wind park is made optically clear to the flying object.
Although the described solution in accordance with WO 2010/133541 is already a very good, reliable and also inexpensive solution, nonetheless malfunctions cannot be entirely excluded.